21 days in arrears

[markw1]

I am not too sure how this works. i have tenants who keep paying different amounts. is it 21 days in arrears when there has been no payment at all for 21 days or is 21 days in arrears the actual $$$ amount that is behind?

[Clark Kent]

As soon as a tenant has missed a payment by a day you should chase them up, then post them a 10 working days notice to pay the outstanding rent. You pick this form up from NZ housing website.

[Tan]

The actual amount behind. First issue them a 10 day notice when they are 1 day late. On the same day apply to the tribunal for a hearing.

http://www.tenancy.govt.nz/pub-sorting-out-problems

Don't wait for 21 days to elapse, or you'll be waiting forever. But if you have, now is the time to do the above 2 steps.

[Clark Kent]

Tan is right, you need to follow these things up straightaway as they are harder to sort out if you leave it a wek or two. Take action now.

[Tan]

By the way, I wouldn't bother to talk to the tenants any more than you already have. Spend the time filling out this (which will be a right b*****d with dribs & drabs).

http://www.tenancy.govt.nz/UserFiles...nt-summary.xls

You will need it at the hearing, but it will help you too.

[markw1]

Much appreciated. Unfortalately the other trustee dosnt do 10 day notices and wont allow it. VERY annoying but he is one of those guys who listens and beleives too much what the tenant says.

[Tan]

Maybe you could get the property professionally managed? Does the trustee have any skin in the game (as Gareth Morgen would say), or is he rich enough to afford to support the tenants lifestyle as well as his own?

I don't think you can do anything until you have issued the 10 day notice. Phone the tribunal & see what they say. 0800 83 62 62

At this point I would go insane! Good luck.

[Keys]

I am not too sure how this works. i have tenants who keep paying different amounts. is it 21 days in arrears when there has been no payment at all for 21 days or is 21 days in arrears the actual $$$ amount that is behind?

Copied from my "advice file".

Rent in Advance:
For rent in advance there is sometimes some confusion. Let’s take the example of a week’s rent in advance. Let us say the tenancy started on May 14th. On May 14th you paid a week’s rent in advance ($280.00) On May 15th you are now 6 days in advance ($240.00). On May 16th you are now 5 days in advance ($200.00) On May 17th you are now 4 days in advance ($160.00) On May 18th you are now 3 days in advance ($120.00) On May 19th you are now 2 days in advance ($80.00) On May 20th you are now 1 day in advance ($40.00) On may 21st you are no longer in advance and need to pay another $280.00 to be in advance again. As you can see, this is a simple concept (but sometimes hard to grasp for some people). Your LL may not ask for more rent until the rent you have paid is fully used up. You may offer to pay more though.

21 days in arrears:
On the other hand, some LL’s find the calculation for arrears to be difficult. If the tenant pays in advance then – they pay in advance. Let’s take an example of a rent due day being May 14th. Rent is paid for the week and all is fine. Next rent due day is May 21st. Oh buggar, rent is missed. Now the tenant is not 7 days behind at this stage. In fact, on the morning (say 8 am) they are merely 8 hours behind. Next rent due day is May 28th. Now, even though they have missed two payments, they are only 7 days in arrears. They need to miss two more payments in order to be 21 days in arrears. They can even muck you around continuously so that they remain between (say) 17 and 20 days behind. This effectively stops you asking for eviction due to being 21 days behind at application day. You can, however, ask for eviction because of missed rent and failure to abide by a 10 day notice.

[Perry]

Rent in Advance:
Your LL may not ask for more rent until the rent you have
paid is fully used up. You may offer to pay more though.

My question relates to the manner of asking.

Hypothesis
The rent due date is a Saturday, with overnight
processing meaning that a Friday AP would arrive
on Saturday morning. However . . .

Tenant fills in rent AP for Wednesday, because
they get paid on Tuesday. This is to suit the
tenant, not at the behest of the PM/LL.

Therefore, in that arrangement, two days rent
in advance occurs.

If a tenant cannot surrender any rights under
the RTA, would that not breach s11 (3) even
though it was the tenant's choice of date?

Has s11 (1) (b) ever been used to overcome
such a situation, perhaps?

[Keys]

The LL does not require. The tenant offers. Therefore, the tenant does not "surrender".

[Perry]

That's OK, as far as that word* is concerned. But the
RTA doesn't phrase it that way, viz.

Any purported waiver by a tenant of any right or power
conferred upon tenants by this Act shall be of no effect.

"Purported" is a tricky word in that context. I'd not
like to guess at the way a TT Adjudicator would go
with that, even though they're supposed to hold
a current practising certificate as a lawyer.

Despite being a voluntary act, it could well be con-
strued as a "purported waiver."

Nonetheless, I'll keep it in mind, just in case.

*surrender